Aesthetic Evaluation and Film

This is the first book in the English language to present an in-depth, holistic examination of evaluative aesthetics and criticism as they apply to film. Organised around the explanation of key concepts, it illuminates connections between the work of philosophers, theorists, and critics, and demonstrates the evaluation of form through a close analysis of film sequences.

The book’s central argument is that aesthetic evaluation should be flexibly informed by a cluster of concerns including medium, convention, prominence, pattern, and relation. Rather than privileging a particular theory or film style, it advocates and models a type of approach, attention, process, and discourse. This method is particularly effective for evaluating films from different places, periods, and genres, ensuring that the book will be a central text in the field for years to come.

Aesthetic evaluation and film is suitable for students of films studies and philosophical aesthetics at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and provides a framework for academics researching or teaching in the area. At the same time, the crisp and lucid style will make the book accessible to a wider readership.

Andrew Klevan is Associate Professor in Film Studies at the University of Oxford. He is the author of Barbara Stanwyck (2013), Film Performance: From Achievement to Appreciation (2005) and Disclosure of the Everyday: Undramatic Achievement in Narrative Film (1999).